Public's 'Lear' Begins Feb. 9; Tix On Sale Dec. 17

The Public Theater has announced that The Public's new production of Shakespeare's King Lear - directed by Tony Award-winner James Lapine (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Spelling Bee) and featuring in the title role Kevin Kline - will have a limited run, beginning Friday, February 9th, 2006. Tickets for the general public will go on sale December 17th.

Kline, a Julliard graduate and former member of the famed Acting Company, most recently took on the role of Falstaff in the acclaimed 2003 Lincoln Center production of Henry IV (for which he received a Tony Award nomination).  Other Shakespearean credits include Friar Pete in John Houseman's 1973 staging of Measure for Measure, as well as the title roles in Hamlet, Richard III and Henry V, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at the Public Theater.  Other Broadway credits include Ivanov, Arms and the Man, Three Sisters, On the Twentieth Century and The Pirates of Penzance; he won Tony Awards for the latter two shows.  Screen credits include De-Lovely, Life as a House, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Chaplin, The Pirates of Penzance, Sophie's Choice and A Fish Called Wanda, for which he earned an Academy Award.  He most recently appeared opposite Meryl Streep in the Public Theater's Mother Courage.

In King Lear, a king's misplaced anger at one of his daughters leads to his downfall.  Casting for the other roles has not yet been announced.

Tickets for King Lear are $50. Tickets will go on sale Sunday, December 17th at The Public Theater box office, 425 Lafayette Street; on-line at www.publictheater.org, or by phone at 212-967-7555 (please note new number).

There will be a limited number of $20 Rush Tix available at the box office for every downtown theater performance one hour prior to curtain. There is a 2 ticket limit per person. Cash only.

Box office hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00pm to 7:30pm, and Sunday and Monday from 1:00pm to 6:00pm. For more information, visit www.publictheater.org.